BHP says it’s paying more in taxes in Queensland than it’s collecting in profits, as the company again lashed the Crisafulli government’s coal royalties regime, which it blamed for acute industry challenges.
The world’s biggest miner has aggressively lobbied the state to overhaul the sector’s tax settings since the former Labor government raised royalties in 2022.
The LNP was initially critical of the tax regime but in government has repeatedly said it would not wind back the settings, despite an intense campaign and ongoing scrutiny from powerful industry leaders.
BHP announced in September that the royalties had forced it to slash 750 jobs from its Queensland operations and mothball the open-pit Saraji South coal mine in the Bowen Basin.
On Tuesday, it told investors its “challenges are acute” in Queensland after it revealed its coal mining business had increased by 2 per cent for little monetary gain.
Chief financial officer Vandita Pant said the operations would extract higher volumes in the medium term “without any capital going in” to the company.
She said the cyclical downturn in coal prices was contributing equally to the hit to the company, alongside royalties.
“What we are paying in taxes and royalties is higher than the profit that we’re generating,” Pant said after BHP reported its earnings.
“We have one of the best portfolios from a quality of coal perspective. The demand dynamics of met [metallurgical] coal of high quality remain positive. However, from a business operational return perspective, the challenges are acute.”
Stuart Bocking, the chief executive of industry lobby group Coal Australia, said the tax settings were crippling jobs in regional Queensland.
“The world’s highest coal royalties are taxing coal jobs out of existence. That’s neither fair nor sustainable,” he said.
“Queensland Labor may have created this job-destroying royalties regime, but the LNP now owns it.”
Bocking said the industry was continuing to lobby the Crisafulli government, but Treasurer David Janetzki again said there would be no change to the coal royalties structure.
He said the government was instead supporting the resources sector by speeding up mine approvals and extending the life of coal-fired power until at least 2046.
“We have been clear about our support for the industry – what it means for regional Queensland – and we’ve delivered a stable environment,” Janetzki told reporters on Tuesday.
“Coal royalties play a vital role in paying for hospitals, roads, dams, bridges, nurses, teachers, doctors. It’s an important role that it plays. We’ve offered that certainty and stability to the industry, and will continue to do so.”
BHP reported that earnings from both iron ore and copper boosted its half-year profit to December 2025 by 28 per cent to $US5.64 billion ($8 billion) as its revenue rose 11 per cent to $US27.9 billion.
The company’s shares rose 6.7 per cent during morning trade to $53.71. The company said it would pay investors an interim dividend of US73¢, fully franked, on March 26.
With reporting from Simon Johanson
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James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.
